WWJCVDD?

July 17, 2008 • 12:52 pm • POSTED BY c v a

Jean-Claude Van Damme, aka the Muscles from Brussels, has had a very busy and lucrative career as an—I would venture to say and also be prepared to defend this claim—Action Hero. Hailing from Belgium, Van Damme began martial arts training at a very young age and even competed in some European martial arts tournaments, which he won on two occasions. Perhaps the stages of the WAKU (The World All-Styles Karate Union), the EKU (European Karate Union) were not enough for Van Damme’s decorative and flashy style of mixed-martial arts because his sights were fixated on another stage—Hollywood. So, in 1983, Van Damme’s film career began as a background performer in Rue Barbare.

I recently watched Bloodsport (1988), a mixed-martial arts action-packed film loosely based on the real Frank W. Dux—an entirely different and interesting story in itself—in which Van Damme’s character participates in the Kumite, an ancient Chinese underground martial arts/ultimate fighting-esque scenario in which he overcomes many obstacles (if you haven’t seen the film, you must. I’ll spare all the details in order to maintain a sense of curiosity, but, as you can hopefully imagine, it’s a rich, rich, rich plot with some great dialogue and an amazing soundtrack).

After watching this film (not movie) I began reminscing about the “Van Damme” era of movies that I grew up watching in the 90s, his notorious outfits and dance moves as well as this infamous clip of him dancing with a woman on stage. It wasn’t until about a week ago, while Legionnaire was playing in the background, that our very own Dan Shepelavy mentioned in passing the four letters: JCVD. Ms. Kelly Dorsey and I took a second, looked at each other, and, after failing to figure out this cryptic message, turned to Dan to learn it was the title of the latest Van Damme movie named after himself. JCVD is a “real-life” story about a struggling Van Damme who has been plagued with little work and a fame that has surpassed his current status in the industry.

What Would Jean-Claude Van Damme Do? Well, I can’t possibly answer that for you, but here’s a teaser to the recent JCVD movie, and maybe, just maybe you’ll be able to find some hope and inspiration after watching this movie, which I recommend checking out. After all, it’s never to late to jump start or, round-house kick-to-the-face your life.